Larval development of the land hermit crab Coenobita scaevola (Forskål, 1775) (Crustacea: Anomura: Coenobitidae) reared in the laboratory

Abstract

The complete larval development of Coenobita scaevola (Forskål, 1775) is described, based on laboratory rearing. An ovigerous female was collected on 17 April 1987 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The species has 7 zoeal stages and a megalopa, and development to the megalopa took 47 days at 25°C and salinity 38–39 ppt. The larvae show a number of small differences from C. rugosus, from Japan, but show greater differences compared with C. clypeatus, from the Caribbean. A central telson process in the later zoeal stages appears to be a character of the Coenobitidae.